2016 has seen its fair share of box office successes and failures, but the superhero genre has definitely been at the forefront. Back in February, the R-rated Deadpool totaled over $800 million worldwide, followed by the underwhelming performance of DC Comics’ Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Then, Captain America: Civil War blew all of its compeitors out of the water by garnering over $1 billion. Unlike recent years, how well a superhero movie will do has remained a mystery. And with the excellent marketing of David Ayer’s Suicide Squad, which hit earlier this month, the outcome almost seemed set in stone for it.
Despite poor reviews, the film just hit $600 million worldwide, along with a receiving a lot of support from its fans. It has been atop the box office for three years week now, easily beating out other new releases like Pete’s Dragon, Kubo and the Two Strings, and Sausage Party. While a superhero movie usually claims the number one spot during its opening weekend, history has shown how the forthcoming weeks can have drastically different outcomes for the genre. And according to Deadline, Don’t Breathe, a new acclaimed horror film, looks like it may be the one to finally beat out Suicide Squad.
Don’t Breathe has received very strong reviews, and seems like its home-invasion concept could easily win over a variety of audiences. It opened with $22.4 million, topping Suicide Squad‘s expected 4th-weekend take of $11.5 million. It’s doubtful that Suicide Squad will reach $1 billion, so we will have to see if Warner Bros. sees the film as a success or not.
Don’t Breathe and Suicide Squad are currently playing in theaters.